A few seconds
by Stand with Ward and Queen
Summary: In Pariah, Lois got there just in time to prevent Clark from taking his revenge on Alicia's killer. But what if she had gotten their just a few seconds later? How much can a few seconds change?


**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.**

 **Just something that popped into my head last night.**

Smallville

Night

"You killed her," the rage filled Clark sneered as he pressed Tim against the wall, his hand around the Meteor-Freak's throat, "all she wanted was a chance…and you killed her."

Tim tried to say something but Clark was putting too much pressure on his throat for him to speak. Not that it would've made any difference, nothing the psychopath could say would sway Clark. Remembering holding Alicia's body, the coldness of her skin, the terror he felt that had quickly transformed into rage and crushing grief, Clark made his decision. Reaching his other hand out, Clark puts it on the side of Tim's face. With a hard shove, Tim's head twisted to the side with a loud crack. Lois ran in just in time to see Tim's body drop to the floor, his eyes staring without seeing.

"Clark…what did you do?" Lois asked horror filling her.

"I did what no one else in this town would do: I defended Alicia." Clark said darkly as he faced her.

"Clark, you killed him!" Lois tried to reason with him.

"And isn't that what you all want? Meteor Freaks to die?" Clark sneered as he walked over to her.

"Clark, I know you're in a lot of pain-"

"You don't know anything!" Clark snarled, cutting her off. "For so long, I have believed that humanity was sacred, I looked at humanity as the best in people. But over the last couple days, you and everyone in this town have shown me the worst of humanity. If being human means shunning everyone who's different…then I'm glad I'm not human."

Before Lois could even process what he was saying, there was a gust of wind and Clark was gone.

That was the last time anyone in Smallville saw Clark Kent. He had arrived at his childhood home, packed his bag, and left before anyone in Smallville had heard about what he had done. Before leaving, he took one more thing with him: Alicia's body had never made it to the hospital; it was all too easy for Clark to collect it and take her to the caves, where he had Jor-El preserve it until he could figure out where to bury her. After Jor-El had him combine the stones and form the fortress, his Kryptonian father gave his wife a proper Kryptonian burial.

Without Clark to stop the Meteor Freaks, Smallville's murder rate skyrocketed. Most, like Lois, Chloe and Lana, high-tailed it out of there after graduation. Although some, like Jonathan, insisted on staying, stubbornly believing that his son would return. Clark never would, even for his father's funeral, as he was still angry at Jonathan for his treatment of Alicia. After her husband's death, Martha left as well, realizing Clark would never return.

Without the pressure of Clark's secret and his search for the stones, Lex would go on to become state senator. Clark would occasionally reach out to his old friend, as Lex was the only person who hadn't condemned Alicia. The first time Clark reached out, they sat down and had an honest conversation about Clark, where the Kryptonian explained everything. Once everything was cleared up, the two decided to work together, Lex in the light of day and Clark from the shadows, to create a world that was safe for those with special abilities. Lionel, who would not revert to his evil ways since Lex was never affected by Black Kryptonite, would help them, explaining everything to Lex and Clark about Veritas and the traveler.

The three would later be joined in their efforts by people like Oliver Queen, Clark's friend Bart, Dinah Lance, and the Justice Society veteran Carter Hall. With their help, Clark was able to stop Brainiac from unleashing Zod on earth and would later kill Davis Bloome, who his Kryptonian father would identify as Doomsday, a creature of destruction bent on killing Clark.

Lex would later bring in Tess Mercer, later identified as Lionel's daughter Lutessa, as a liaison between Lex and the team. It was clear from day one that Tess was smitten with Clark and Clark started to return the feeling after some time. Although hesitant, due to feeling like he was betraying Alicia, he had taken Lionel's advice, who told him Alicia would want him to move on, and pursued a relationship with Tess. A relationship which saw them married in a true Kryptonian ceremony with Lex, Lionel, and the team as witnesses. And although neither had believed it possible, Tess fell pregnant a year after their marriage and gave birth to a girl they had named Lara Alicia Kal-El (Clark had forsaken his human name, going by Kal-El, with only his closest friends and in-laws still calling him Clark). Their daughter was a bubbly little girl who was close friends with Oliver and Dinah's daughter, Olivia.

Which brings us to today.

Washington D.C., 2017

Night

"Thank you all for coming," President Lex Luthor said as he stood before the press, "as you all know, ever since I first became a state senator of Kansas over ten years ago, I have been a very outspoken advocate for the rights of Metahumans, or Meteor Freaks as they were known as then. Today, it is my proud honor to announce that to discriminate, assault, torture, or even murder a Metahuman will now be considered a hate crime. As a favor to an old friend, this new law will be called The Alicia Baker act. All further details will be released soon, I promise you. Now, I will gladly answer all your questions…"

New Kandor

Same time

In the hidden city he had created with his father's technology, Kal-El sat in the living room, watching the television as Lex began answering questions from the press. The television was turned off and Kal looked over to see his wife, Tess Mercer-El, putting down the remote.

"Our daughter is staying with her grandfather and you're more interested in the TV than me." She said with a teasing smirk and Kal chuckled.

"Sorry. It's just; Lex and I have been working towards this for such a long time. It feels…pretty damn incredible to see all our work finally pay off." Kal admitted.

"I get that," Tess said as she put a hand on his face, "you did good, you honored her. Now, are you just gonna let this very rare night alone go to waste, or what?"

Her question was answered he lunged for her, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. Tess managed to laugh as Kal crawled on top of her, pressing her down into the couch as his hand wondered towards the helm of her shirt.

 **If Clark seems out of character in the beginning, well, I hate how Clark's grief was handled in the show, or rather how it wasn't. I get that Clark Is supposed to be the only truly good person on this show, but he had to feel some anger, resentment, and even disgust at how the people of Smallville treated Alicia.**

 **So, what do you guys think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.**


End file.
